'Destiny' is about to get far more 'exotics'

"Destiny: The Taken King," coming September 15, promises to be bigger than the previous two expansions combined. And in many ways, it's an entirely new game. Destiny power leveling make it easy.

With an overhaul of the existing experience plus a wealth of new quests, missions, activities, weapons and gear, "The Taken King" aims to satisfy the current"Destiny" fan base while also attracting new players and anyone who may have previously left the game dissatisfied.

On Tuesday, Game Informer dumped a ton of information about "Destiny: The Taken King" in a cover story for its print magazine. And now we finally have some information about new "exotic" weapons and armor, which are easily the best, rarest, and most sought-after items in the game.

For those unfamiliar with "Destiny," exotic weapons and armor are uniquely designed and come with defining bonuses ("perks") that make them different from every other item in the game. Exotic weapons and armor are also extremely hard to come by, and they often require a lengthy quest or an endgame activity just to have a chance to randomly drop. Put simply: they often require a large investment of time to even have the potential to find them, and even then it's not a guarantee.

Game Informer's Matt Miller said he saw references to "over a dozen" new exotic weapons, and "around a half dozen new armor pieces for each class" (there are three classes to choose from: hunter, warlock, and titan). So based on Miller's estimates, it sounds like there could be over 30 new exotics in "Destiny: The Taken King" – a 50 percent uptick in available exotics. That's huge!

Miller describes some of the exotic weapons he was able to check out during his two-day stint at Bungie, the studio behind "Destiny":

One awesome auto rifle shoots blasts of chain lightning. A sniper rifle I saw blinds nearby enemies on a precision hit. One of my personal favorites is an intriguing new Pulse Rifle called No Time To Explain that answers the desire for a high-level version of the Stranger's Rifle: nailing precision hits with the arc weapon refuels bullets directly to the magazine.

Game Informer also shed light on how you'll get some of these exotic weapons: In one case, you'll visit the fortress-like Dreadnaught, a massive floating ship piloted by Oryx, the main boss in "The Taken King," collecting artifacts to build the weapon and also flesh out its backstory in the process.

There's also a new exotic heavy weapon called the Sleeper Simulant, which is basically a portable rail cannon that charges up shots that blast through enemy shields and bounce off the walls. The design of the weapon itself, which you'll need to visit Game Informer to see, is also unlike any weapon you've seen before in "Destiny."